For Foreign Policy: Transitions.     Lately I've found myself thinking back to those horrible American soap operas (the "Bold and the Beautiful," etc.) that my late grandmother used to watch. She managed to find interest in what seemed to me like a sickeningly repetitive story (love, betrayal, and borderline incestuous relationships). Each season introduced [...]

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For FP: Transitions.   I don't know much about the code of conduct of U.N. Peacekeepers, such as those deployed in the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). But I'm going to assume that it's probably OK for peacekeepers to post photos of people that they meet on their Facebook group even if they are [...]

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  I liked Carmen. She was a cool lady. She will be missed. Originally published on Foreign Policy Transitions.     "You must be Esti's grandson," said one lady as she pinched my cheek. "Leave him be. He's a guest," responded Carmen Weinstein as she moved a tray of sandwiches under the sukkah. The first time [...]

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I had the pleasure of speaking at the TEDxCairo conference last December - my first TEDx speech in Arabic, and it was a ton of fun. Titled "Democratising Entrepreneurship", I spoke of the opportunities and risks of micro, small and medium enterprises in Egypt, highlighting the informal sector. (which is huge. Watch the presentation!) English [...]

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  [Originally posted on Foreign Policy.]     Mocking rulers is a tradition almost as old as rule itself. At times mockery is subtle and allegorical; at others it is blunt, sometimes gauche, but always funny. Some wonderful examples are the fables of Nasreldin Goha, a folkloric character rumored to have lived in thirteenth century Turkey. One [...]

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I feel really strongly about Bahrain - not only because of friends there, but also because I feel that I am probably not doing enough to publicize what's going on there. So here's a very small attempt at doing that. Originally posted on Foreign Policy. Zainab al-Khawaja, on hunger strike since March 17, escalated her [...]

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Crossposted on Foreign Policy Transitions. Mubarak's Egypt was one of the CIA's favorite destinations under their "extraordinary rendition"  program: A human rights-free zone where torture at the CIA's hands, hampered by delicate legislation, was supervised by the chief of intelligence and Mubarak-era strongman Omar Suleiman himself. One revolution later, and Morsy's Egypt, believe it or not, is taking the country one [...]

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Crossposted on Foreign Policy: Transitions.     What has changed in Tunisia since opposition leader Chokri Belaid was assassinated? I've asked many Tunisian friends that question. Most remained silent for a few seconds, smiled sadly, and whispered, "not much." One, a well-known activist, noted bitterly that what was clear was that Belaid didn't die "for [...]

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In North Africa, there's more to the Harlem Shake than, well, Shaking: it is, for a new generation of youngsters, their first act of political rebellion too. Posted on Foreign Policy Magazine: Transitions.     It turns out that the Harlem Shake fad has one redeeming quality: It seems to annoy Islamists to no end. The kids [...]

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Live from Rabat, Morocco! I couldn't pass on the opportunity to attend a protest (naturally). I wrote this. [Thanks to RB for being a gracious guide to Morocco's protest movement]. Cross-posted on Foreign Policy Transitions. RABAT, Morocco - Yegor Talikov, a street musician, was playing his saxophone on the Hotel Balima plaza in Rabat. Some passersby [...]

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